Illuminated announcement and display signal.



vv.A woon. l ILLUMINATED ANNoUcEMEN'T ND DISPLAY BIGNAL. APPLIUATION FILED' Inn 17. 'leon'.l 974,943, Pand Nov. 8, 1910.l

8 SEBETHHBET 1.

anun,-

P. W. Woon.

ILLI-IMINATED ANNOUNCEMENT AND DISPLAY SIGNAL.

APP-LwATIoN FILED JUNI: 1v. 190s.

974,943. A Patented Noms, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2` UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

,naux w. woon, or Newsom News, VIRGINIA, Assmann 'ro CHARLES com! e son,

or New Yonx, n. Y.'

ILLUHINATED ANNOUNCEMENT .AND DISPLAY SIGNAL.

Speclcation of Letten Patent.

Application filed .Tune 17,' 1908. Serial Io. 438,898.

Newport News, in .the county of Warwick g and State of Virginia', have invented new gnd useful Improvements in Illuminated onncement and Display Signals, of

the following is .a specification.

'uns invention relates to illuminated charader `electric signaling devices-of that type wherein the signal is produced b means of u93 of electric lamps dispose in certain to devices of this class desi ed especiel y for use in transmitting or ers or 1ntnlligens from one point to another.

In the numerous attempts which have .more ybeen made-to produce a signal' display system of this character, one of the ipal diiculties encountered has been necessityy for roviding a very large lilllllllher of electr.ic lamps, and hence' a corresponding number of independent circuits, for each letter, figure or character produced. The primary object of this invention is therefore to reduce to a minimum the number of lamps employed within a given field `roduce the various characters required, to this end I fom such characters by .meensof certain elementary blocks of light so constructed and arrau ed that the char: actors will be clearly and istinctly outlined.

A further object of the invention is to provide an im roved transmitting or control ling device'lliy meansof which the circuits of the various lamps are selected and closed and the various orders or signals thus produced.

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A. further object of the invention is to so arrange the various parts that ready access me be had to thc mechanism for inspection and7 repair, aud to so construct theI apparatus Y ossible number of parts, and therefore be t urable, practical, and easy to maintain.

With the above and other objects in view, and to improve generally upon the details of 'auch apparatus, my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hercinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings iu whirl) g Figure `1 is a front view of the signal dis- 'plevlng apparatus. Fig. 2 is atransverse section therethrough on line 22. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional detail on an cn oracteristic formations, and more particularged scale, showing the construction of lamp socket which I prefer t'o employ. F ig.- 3 is a front view of one of the transmitting or signal controllin devices. Fig. 4 is a transverse section t erethrou h. Fig. 5 is a front view of a slightly dierent form of transmitting device, some parts being shown in section, and others being broken away, for the sake of clearness. Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of circuits employed.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, my improved 'illuminated signal displayin ap aratus comprises a. casing consisting o a ase section 1, provided with lu s 2 by means of which it may be supporte and a cover section 3, secured to the other section by means of bolts 4. By reference to Fig. 2,v it will be seen that these bolts comprise Shanks-extending centrally through the walls of the cover section, and terminatn at one end in screw-threaded portions, w ich enga e the 'walls of the base section, andprol vi ed at the other end with pol gonal heads 6, adapted to receive a suitable key. Set screws 7, Workin annular grooves in t-he Shanks of these boltsand prevent them from falling out of their 'holes when the coverv section is removed.

In the front of the casing is formed series of sight openings or windows 8, 9,1mder which extends a sheet 10 of translucent material, such as ground lass or the like. Immediately back of this g ass is disposed 'a plate 11 having secured'thereto anumber of separate compartments or cells 12. These compartments referably have their front ends narrower t antheir body portions, and

are arranged within each sight opening in Patented Nov. 8, 1910.

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certain contigurations so as to produce the l 4characters desired, as hereinafter explained.

Disposed within the casing 1 is aplate 13, of 'insulating material, supportedat one end by means of a h inge llt pivoted at 15 to a lug carried 'by the' casing. At its other end, the plate 13 abuts against a lu 16 formed on the wall of the casing and is eld in position by means of a screw 17, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. Secured to, and ,coextensive with the plate 13 is a metallic plate 18,- preferably formed of brass or copper. To this plate 18 are secured ymp sockets 19 which, as shown in Fig. 2, preferably consist of helical coils of wlre, one endof which is soldered directly to the late 18. This method of constructing th'e amp sockets is vdesirable for the reason that it aiords a resilient support for the lamps, and prevents 4other end of these bolts, and-serve to hold one dond of flexible leadsv 24, the other ends l of which are connected to terminal blocks 25,

from which wires extend through a conduit 25 toa suitable transmitting 'or controlling device Referringagain to Fig. 1, the novel arrangement of the lampv com artmentsA will for use on war ships and t e like, for transmitting to the gunners information relating to the distance and direction of a tar et, and also orders as'to firing. To this en I varrange the upper series of windows 8 toindicate the range, in yards, and the lower series to indicate the angle or deflection, in degrees, and also the orders. It is found in practice that a iive;place number is sumcient vfor the purpose` ofindicating the l range, and of course a two-place number al- 1 ways suffices for indicating degrees of de- By means of the special monogram arrangement of character elements, which I have devised, any digit can, be formed withfin the field defined by any sight opening or window, as, for example, those indicating deflections. As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the end of each lamp compartment or cell is shaped to form an elongated rectangle having pointed ends. These cells are so grouped in each window as to form a rectangular frame-work comprising two cells on each side, and one at each end. In order to complete the combination 'of elements necessar to produce all the di its, I-arrang'e one additional cell horizonta y across the middleof the rectan le so outlined, and alsecond additional cel `dia onally across the upper half of the rectang e. The arrangement constitutes, in reality, a pair of adjacent rectangles havin a common side,'and a diagonal across one o the rectangles.

v lt will thus be seen .that by illuminating certain combinations ofthese cells, an desired digit whatever can be roduce( and clearly outlined by blocks of light. In Fig. 1, under the heading Deflectiom I have for egiample illustrated the two digits 4 e apparatus and 6 in the tens and units lace respectively, thus indicating an ange of 46 degrees. l

While in some instances it may be necessar or desirable to arrange in each of the 7( sig t openin s emplo ed the lamp cells in the manner )gist described, still in the present instance it has been found in practice that this .is unnecessary in all of the sight openings, for 'indicating range. lFor ex- 75 ample, the ran e is never read more closely than by 50s. herefore, in the units lace,

'it is only necessary to arrange the ce ls so as to roduce the figure 0 while in the tens p ace -'the two figures 0- and 5 are- 80 all-that is-required.. Similarly, in the extreine left hand window, which indicates the tens Y-of thousands, it is only necessary to arrange the cells to produce the numeral 1, sincek the range never exceeds this amount. I In the example illustrated in Fig. 1, the range is indicated-as 19,850 yards. It is evident that, in practice, an number of yards below this amount can e indicated, the ste s being by 50s.

As dr the sight openings 9 at the right and left of the deflection signal, the words Cease and Commence may be written directly on the ground glass-or other translucent material, and when the lamp beneathv such sight opening is illuminated, the characters will be brightly delined and canbe easily read. f f,

Asa means for selecting and controlling the various lamp circuits so as t produce the desired signal, I preferably ein loy the transmitting devices illustrated in igs. 3, 4 and 5. That illustrated 'in Fi 3, is ein-l ployed for transmitting the de ection indications and orders, while that in Fig. 5l is used for transmitting the range indications. Fig. 4 may be considered as a central -transverse section throughA either Fig, 3 lor Fig. 5, as the detailed construction of e two transmitters is the-saine, tue parts differing only m arrangement.

ters have been preserved in the `two forms.

Y Referring, however, first ioFig.Y 6,-it will be seen that the' lamps 21fbelonging to the compartments of each sight o eni are con- For the sake of clearness, a number ofthe saine reference characnccted by a number of indivi ual wires`26 to a series of spring arms 27, supported on a suitable block of insulating material, 31.-. In direct'alinement with the spring arms 27 is another correspondin set 28,A also mounted on a block 31, of insu ating material. lAll of the arms 28vare connected-to a common wire' 29, which extends to one side of a suitable source of current 30, from the other side of which extends a common return wire toeacli ofthelanis21. l

As clearly shown in Fig. 4, cach of the brushes 2Tand 28 is )rovided at its cud with a cup or Socket in which is seated n block or brush 32 p eferably of carbon. These carbon brushes bear upwardly against the )eriphery of a controlling drum 38. 1s

drum 1s formed of insulating material, and

has embedded in its periphery contact strips 39, preferably. of copper, so arranged that. whenvin a certain position,- cach strip will serve to brid a corresponding pair of brushes 32, an thus connect the associated springarms 27, A28. The contact drum 38 is preferably mount ed on hollow, metallic spiders 40, to each of which is attached an operating handle :11, rovided with a locking lever 42, which ever carries 'at its lower end a detent (not shown) adapted to engage wlth any one of a series 4of openings 43, (see Fig. 4) formed in the-frame of the machine, all of which parts' operate in a well known manner -to orders, while in Fig. 5 there are shown four such drums, for the range indications, two of which are arranged to produce an digit whatever, while the extreme left handy drum 38 controls only the digit 1 shown at the extreme left hand of Fig. 1, and the right hand drum :l7'fcp`ntrols the ilinits and tens s' t o ening o i 1, joint y.

lgllhe spring arms 2g? and 28 and their associated contact brushes are arranged in casirgs 34, 45, provided with lugs'35' by means o which they may be supported'. Removable cover plates -36 are provided'for the casings, and over each drum is a semi-cylindrical guard or shield 37, 37, 37", etc. On

these guards are written the various characters which it 'is, desired to transmit, yand pointers 44, 44, etc., are attached to the respectiveoperating levers and serve to indicate to the operator when the correspondin drnmis in a position to produce the desire signal. Suitable conduits,y such as 33, may extend from' the casings 34,45, for carrying the wires to the receiver shown in Fig.`1.

In practice, the two transmitters shown in Figs. 3'and 5 are preferably. arranged close together so that they may be simultaneously manipulated by the same operator, and wires from both of these transmitters are preferably led to the 'single'receivin and dis laying device shown in Fig. 1. I desired, owever, other arrangements may be employed, as my invention is not limited to the s ecitc type of apparatus or. the particular c ass of signals or orders which .it is desiredy to transmit. w

My invention consists, however, broadly in the novel and en ective arrangements of cells,

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everyffdigit.A is not required, I maybe. able to' dispense with certain of these lamps and'. thereby'urther reduce the number.

It will thus be seen that I have produced a very simple and effective apparatus for transmitting' signals or intellivences of all kinds, and it is thought that tie numerous advantages of my invention will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:-

1. A monogrammic illuminated character4 device comprising lamp cells arranged to form the outline of a pair of adjacent reef tang1es,having acommon side andone of said rectangles having a. diagonal each side of said rectangles and said diagonal beingy formed of a continuous, straight bar of light. i 2. A mono mmic illuminated character device capab e of producing any digit and comprising elongated lamp cells, so ar-Y ranged as to form a single pair of rectangular-frames having a common side and oneA of said rectangular fra-mes having a diagonal, a single cell constituting each side of each rectangle and said diagonal.

3.' A monogrammic illuminated character device capab e of producing any digit and comprising elongated lamp cells so arran ed as to form a single pair of rectangu ar frames having a common side and a diagonal across one of said frames.

4. An illuminated character dis lay 'device comprising-lamp cells arranged) to prol duce character forming elements, each element consistinv ofan elongated rectangle having ointe' ends, said ends being sym. -metrlcal y fitted together at each corner, and

a lamp cell forming a diagonal ofone of the rectangles. v

5. In an illuminated electric signal device having a series of lamps, a composite plate comprising a metal face and insulating v back, a series of lamp sockets adapted to receive the bases of said lamps and -each comprising a helical coil Yof wire set into an opening in the metal face of said plate, pins projectlng through the insulating, backing ofwsaid plate opposite each4 opening and contacting with the ,bottom of said lamp bases, Aan wires secured to said pins so as to form oneiter'mnal for said lamps, the said metal face constituting ka common conducting plate, and serving as the other terminals Y of said lam s.A .I 6. In an illuminated character display system for displaying'numbers, a display devicecomprising a group of translating devices arran d to form digits, a transmitter for contro mg said groups comprisin a caslngcarrying fixed contactsconnecte to said translating devices, a plurality of axially alined rotary drums coperating therewith to control the translating devices, concentric guards for said drums removably .mounted on said casing,- rotatable operating handles for said drums, indicia on the face of said guards defining character forming positions, and indexes on said handles whlch move over said indicia.`

7. In 'an illuminated character display ystem 'for ,displaying numbers, a display evice comprising a group of translating defor contro ing said groups comprising a vlces arran ed to form digits, a transmltter casing carrying lxed contacts connected t0 said translating devices, a plurality ofaxi- 20 ally alined rota, drums coperating therewith to control t e translating devices, independently removable concentric guards for said drums mounted on said caslng and in l which said drums are mounted, rotatable,.-g5 o rating handles for said drums, indicia 01E t e face of said guards defining characterforming ositions, and indexes on said handles w ich move over said indicia..-v

In testimony whereof I have 'hereunto set so myhand in presence of two'subscpribing'witnesses.

Y FRANK W., WOOD. Witnesses:

ARTHUR L. BRYANT, J. Hanson Bouman. 

